Monday, March 7, 2011

"Things look different here." That was the slogan of a tourism campaign some years ago, which received a fair amount of good-natured ridicule. Another similar local slogan is "Keep Portland weird," which despite local insistence, probably did not originate in that city.

Okay, so these things probably come across my radar simply because I do read quite a few Oregon-based news sources, but it often feels like there is a lot of strange news coming from this odd state. Case in point: it was reported last week that a man in Roseburg awoke to find his dog had eaten a portion of his foot, including three toes. Turns out, he's diabetic, and had no feeling in his feet. The veterinarian involved conjectured that the dog smelled gangrene, and chewed off the affected tissue. I would point out that if the guy actually did have gangrene, and was oblivious to it, the dog may very well have saved the rest of his foot, leg, or even his life. Friday it was reported he was recovering well, and was expected to leave the hospital soon.

Now if I had a dog that had eaten three of my toes under similar circumstances, I would be grateful and more deeply committed to giving that animal a good life. But I can certainly understand that the quease factor might just be too much for some people. According to an AP story linked at OregonLive, the victim has decided to put the dog up for adoption. "The dog may soon be available for adoption at Roseburg's Saving Grace Pet Adoption Center."